Switzerland refuses to give the U.S. the names of UBS clients - June 9, 2010
The Swiss parliament on Tuesday rejected the agreement for transmission to the United States of thousands of names of UBS clients suspected of tax evasion. Signed in August 2009 between Berne and Washington, the agreement had been challenged in January by the Swiss courts. Members of the National Council (lower house) spoke to 104 vote against the request for information from U.S. on a 4450 American clients suspected of having escaped from their taxes.
Several parliamentarians have yet tried to defend the agreement, citing the urgency of closing a thorny issue for the Swiss government and UBS. "With the uncertainty of a referendum, we extend a risky situation (and) put at risk cooperation with one of the most important economic partners" of Switzerland, the United States, has launched Hans Grunder (bourgeois Democratic Party Swiss center-right).
The Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf for his part called in vain to "close this painful chapter and resolve problems" of the Swiss financial center. The 76 votes cast in favor of the agreement have not made the weight. And because of disagreement between members, the document must pass before the Council of States (upper house) for a new vote. it should be held on Wednesday, the summer session ending June 18
Referendum
Elected officials have also decided to submit the agreement to hold a referendum. Under Swiss law, any citizen may indeed ask, if it meets 50,000 signatures in 100 days, the holding of a referendum on a bill. The people having the last word, any outcome of the vote is final and binding.
A delay or a final refusal, Bern that UBS could put as much in a difficult situation.it might first be seriously tarnished relations between Switzerland and the United States. For the first Swiss bank, a final rejection would be more harmful because it might again confront the prosecution in the United States, while still recovering from losses sustained during the astronomical financial crisis.
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